POPULAR former rag and bone man Thomas Brierley was taken to his last resting place by a horse-drawn glass hearse.

Mr Brierley, of Meadowside Avenue, Clayton-le-Moors, died in hospital aged 82 and was laid to rest in Dill Hall Lane Cemetery, Church, yesterday.

The procession, organised by Hyndburn Funeral Services, began at his home before mourners moved to St Mary's RC Church, Clayton-le-Moors.

Mr Brierley, known as Basil, was a familiar figure in Hyndburn as he trotted through the streets with his beloved horse, Tommy.

He first took up the reins as a rag and bone man in the 1950s and carried on the trade until the early 1980s.

Previously, he had an amazing escape during the Second World War when he was taken captive by Japanese soldiers in Singapore.

An American torpedo destroyed the ship he was on and Mr Brierley was rescued by a US submarine after spending five days clinging to a piece of wood in the sea. Mr Brierley's wife Sara, known locally as Sally, died in 1991.

The couple had four children - sons Anthony, Christopher and Stephen, and daughter Christine.

Mr Brierley's youngest son, Stephen, said: "We think my dad was the last rag and bone man in Hyndburn, because it's something society doesn't need any more.

"He had a number of horses and started off with one called Flash, but Tommy was the best known.

"Dad went all over the place, from Rishton to Baxenden and he was well known. I used to see him come past my school, Holy Family, which is now Mount Carmel, in Oswaldtwistle.

"The carriage which carried dad's coffin came from Cambridgeshire. It wasn't a normal funeral, we had a garage full of flowers - and we'd like to thank everyone."

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